Wednesday, 21 January 2009

Can boxing help you in a street fight?

Can boxing help you in a street fight?

Yes, boxing can help you in a street fight. But never forget, it's more about an individuals mindset then anything else. Some people are more inclined to 'react' in a real life situation then others. Real life situations happen so fast, they can catch you off guard. And don't forget, there are no rules on the street. Real life situations are not a sparring session, you can get seriously hurt, specially when weapons are involved. Boxing will give you the confidence and sharpness of mind to react much more quicker then if you don't do anything which involves combat training, or you just sit around chilling and smoking all day.

Boxing or keeping fit in general will keep you more alert, but in order to get the full benefits from boxing you have to spar regularly. It can be a scary feeling when you are going to spar for the first time (I've been there myself), but believe me, once you do it a few times you start to love it. Just be careful, it can matter hugely on your first few sparring experiences, such as, if you go boxing and want to spar but you end up sparring a more experienced boxer, and they want to look good in the gym by giving you a boxing lesson this is not good and could totally put you off boxing and sparring forever. What you need for the first few times is good guys to spar with, this is one of the most important things.

Sparring is about learning, not taking someones head off. You might spar, get beat up badly and never go back boxing again, but you have to be aware, getting good at boxing sparring takes time to perfect. When I first went boxing I was going into sparring and treating it like a real street fight, just going crazy swinging everywhere! But after quite a lot of sparring I started to slow down, become more controlled, and really started to learn how to box.

The guys I sparred with when I first started seemed pretty good at the time, but once I got the hang of sparring they seemed like novices. You have to remember, everything takes time to perfect, from driving to boxing. And having good guys to spar with is one of the best things you can have, guys that understand that it takes time and want you to learn, who have nothing to prove because they know there good anyway, they don't need to show off by beating a novice. When you find training partners like that hang on to them.

Boxing is always handy in a street fight for many reasons-one being strength: Boxing training is tough, so this alone will make you stronger and more efficient with movement and co ordination.

Your Reaction time will be much quicker and after a while, boxing movements and punch combinations will get so drummed into you, it will become part of your natural instinct. Boxing training will also help you get faster on your feet, so you could jump back or duck out of the way of a street attack quicker. Your Confidence level from boxing training and sparring will hit the roof, specially when you know your getting better.

In general, boxing will just make you feel better all round, and when you feel better physically and mentally this will help you in any situation, from stress at work, getting the girl of your dreams, and yes even being being able to defend yourself in a street fight, which is only a good thing. No matter what walk of life you are from, or where in the world you come from, at some point in your life you will need to defend yourself. So doing boxing, or any other form of realistic fight training will definitely benefit you when the going gets tough.

A word of warning: Boxing can help you in a street fight but nothing is certain. There are a million and one different "real life situations" you could find yourself in, some which all the boxing skill in the world won't be able to get you out of. Street fights are not fair, mostly quick and brutal, anything can happen. Boxing has rules and regulations - the street doesn't, and some of the people you will fight there won't, and will do almost anything, or stoop very low to win or achieve their objective. So it's very possible that you might have to show some heart to overcome the situation. Never forget that, and never limit yourself to one fighting style. What if a fight turns into a wrestling match and ends up on the ground? Also remember: Your will to win can be just as, if not more important then your technique. You could be caught by the element of surprise, something that can catch anyone off guard so be aware.

If you are interested in what really works in a street fight and how to prepare for one I highly recommend you read the book below. If i could recommend one book you should read regarding street fights and what really works in real life situations this would be it. I cannot recommend it highly enough. You have to read this book.

53 comments:

Meditations On Violence is a very good book. Maybe the best book even written on that subject. Very sobering to say the least, but then again, violence is a serious subject. This book cuts through all the BS and gets to the point. Thanks for recommending it, otherwise i would never of known it existed.

Great post. Being in the gym and sparring will help immensely in a person's ability to deal with a street fight.

All humans are wired with a fight or flight mechanism and adrenaline goes with it.

By being in the gym and sparring you start "training" that entire process and condition those built-in attributes. After being in controlled fights (sparring) or real matches the adrenaline doesn't overwhelm you andyou instinctively know how to handle the situation in a calm manner. Karate and other popular martial arts many times don't give you the opportunity to really experience getting hit and hitting another hard like boxing does.

Having 15 years of boxing under my belt along with 5 years of TKD and Kung Fu I can say boxing really made me find myself.

Fortunately, I have only had a handful of street fights and as the author wrote, instinct kicks in. I always remained calm and ended all of the unfortunate circumstances abruptly with a punch or two.

Keep in mind street fighting usually ends up with people hurt and law enforcement ready to take both parties to jail regardless of who was the agitator.

Can you jump in Boxing?..........Well, i suppose its a matter of how high and how often! If you jumping like a rabbit you'll be disqualified! If you do the occasional jump to block a punch, or jump back out the way defending a punch (like vitali Klitschko does), then you should be ok......Depending on what type of day the refs had..

Boxing will help you in a street fight. One very good reason is because when you are hitting a target all the time you get more better at judging distance and punch reaction times will be more finely tuned. Distance is of key importance in a real fight. Having a sharp mind to react to the moment is very important as well.

street fighting is over in a minute, so if you know boxing and train in boxing you will have faster punches from training using multiple combinations, more power, with crisp and accurate punches. And the arms will be more able to handle strain of punching. Practise makes perfect!

One time i got thrown out of a nightclub and whilst outside i got talking to a club bouncer who told me about all things fighting. He said that he has fought many men that claimed to be boxers and said that once he got close and grabbed them (this guy was huge and must of weighed like 20stones)- he said they were mostly useless.

All he said he does is runs into a man with his hands cupped round his head, takes a few punches but manages to grab the guy, wrestles them or throws them to the floor and beats them up. He was a big bouncer and i beleive him. he looked like a tough guy and i know looks arent everything. but you could just tell this guy was in the pain business.

He went on to tell me he had trained in judo for 20 years, couple that with real street fighting experience + 20 stone and you have a serious force on your hands.

The law in a lot of counttrys for anyone, including boxer is if someone hits you first your allowed to defend yourself. It looks better if the person hits you first anyway i know that, specially for UK law.

I remember one time when i was at boxing a few years ago, this big man who said he was a rugby player was watching me box. Later he came over, asking me to show him how to punch. I was surprised to see that he could not punch at all, i dont know why but he just couldnt..With the right training he could become better but it was strange because he just could not punch with any force, but he was a big man but his punch power was zero.

Mostly all streetfights are after people have been drinking alcohol...I stopped drinking and when im out around drunk people its nice to know i still have my wits about me. So if it does kick off im sober and ready to go..Im not a trouble maker and i will only fight as a last resort..but you know how pushy drunk people can be...thinking they can take on the world and his brother..

Ok so one day I was walking to my PE lesson at school, and everyone was everywhere, very tight spaces, anyway, I felt a slap to my face, which did shock me for a short period of time. As I slowly turned around I saw one of my friends pointing and laughing at me, as to say he had slapped me, possibly for a joke that went way to far, anyway at break time, I confronted my friend and done what he had done to me, I slapped him right across his face, I had slapped him with more force though, to prove a point not to mess with me, though a fight slowly got out of hand and I was up to me to put him back in his place. As we were fighting a big crowd gathered, and he was throwing soft amateur punches at me, which made me even more angry, this is when I thought “I’ve had enough it’s time to show these people what I’m made of” and I suddenly threw a big right hook to his face and then I used my foot work to slowly back off, he fell to the floor and I had ended it with just one punch, this was how boxing helped me in a real fight, I had used foot work and a right hook to end what he had started.

Boxing always helps me in fights because when I watch boxing fights I learn from them myself, by copying what I see the actual boxers do, like in little fights I’ve had, i always make sure I keep my composure and keep a profesional boxing stance to make it look as if the other fighter dont faze me what so ever, this always makes the person that im fighting scared oof me, because of how calm I have taught myself to act. I imagine myself inside a boxing ring and it’s not real it’s just a fight to prove your worth, this always helps me.

You can be a natural puncher, just like Mike Tyson was, he was born a big puncher. But you can't be a natural at all the skills needed to be a good boxer, they take time to master. But it helps if your fit and have good reflexes and athleticism. Even Tyson didn't walk in the gym like what you see when he was in his prime, it took time, learning, mentoring, hard sparring, gruelling work outs etc..

Its a matter of reasons...If you beat up my mom or sister, ill absolutely hurt you badly because im genuinely angry. If you look at me bad and ask me what im looking at ill probably do nothing because it hasnt got me angry enough. that doesnt mean im an idiot for not responding, it just means im mature enough to rise above it and it doesnt get me angry enough to fight over

anythings better then nothing. I also think that abstaining from masturbation will make a person more up for a fight if they need to defend themselves. Too much masturbation can alter a persons mentality. Make them unsure of themselves, looose confidence and things like that.

Average boxer? Average martial artist...All forms of self defense are equal in many ways. its not the art BUT THE INDIVIDUAL!!!! You get a man thats tough anyway and make him a judo black belt..Then get a man who does boxing for years but isnt that way inclined.. Who do you thinks gonna win....its all about the individual not the art